Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., succeeded Thursday in a bid to wrest the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from its veteran chairman.
With House Democrats voting in favor of Waxman by a slim margin of 137-122, he defeated Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., for the chairmanship of the committee that will likely play a large role in crafting the nation's energy policy under President-elect Barack Obama. The committee will also oversee efforts to reform the nation's health care system.
Waxman, a liberal who has championed environmental causes for years, was the No. 2 Democrat on the panel and in recent years has built a reputation as an aggressive investigator of the Bush Administration as the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
However, Dingell's defeat was a blow to many Democrats who favor assigning committee chairmanships based on seniority.
According to Democrats in the meeting, Dingell tried to retain his post by citing a long list of accomplishments, while Waxman argued the case for change and his plans for working with Obama.
Dingell, a staunch advocate for his home-state automakers, had drawn fire from more liberal Democrats for moving slowly on initiatives to address global warming and regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
That reportedly angered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California ally of Waxman, though she remained officially neutral in the clash over the committee leadership.
Dingell was magnanimous in his defeat, offering congratulations to Waxman in a statement to RTTNews and pledging to work for a smooth transition.
"Well, this was clearly a change year and I congratulate my colleague Henry Waxman on his success today," Dingell said. "What will not change, however, and what will never change, is my commitment to the working men and women of the 15th Congressional District of Michigan who have honored me with the opportunity to represent them here in Washington."
Speaking after the vote, fellow Michigan Democrat Rep. Dale Kildee said he would have preferred to see Dingell hold onto his position, but he said he didn't think the change would dramatically alter the course of legislation coming out of the committee.
"I think basically the energy policy is going to be greatly influenced more from the White House now," Kildee said. "What would have emerged under Waxman or Dingell would have been quite similar because the White House is going to play a major role in setting the energy policy of this country."
Waxman also won a test vote for the position at Wednesday's meeting of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which voted 25-22 in his favor.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.